The Forum

Join the conversation this week on everything market research! Sima and Lenny Murphy, a thought leader in the market research space, will be having an in-depth discussion about market research today and what the future might hold.

According to Forbes, some of the benefits of company culture include contributing to your company’s identity and values, increasing retention, and adding to your brand identity. This week your host, Sima Vasa, dives deep into company culture with two companies from INC.com’s Best Places to Work for in 2016. First we’ll be hearing from Julie Strong, CEO at C1S, where her employees participate in team building events and social gatherings to build camaraderie. Sima also speaks with Leigh Gross, VP Business Development at CommonBond, where they offer a unique program to pay back their employee’s student loan debts. This feature has been effective in retaining and attracting millennials.

Perspectives from Kickstarter and Sharktank experiences.You may recognize special guest Adam Tichauer, Founder and Head Camper at Camp No Counselors, from Shark Tank on ABC. This episode also features Tim and Shannon Swindle, co-creators of Utternonsense, a fun accent card game funded on Kickstarter. Special guests all have something in common; they are both in the business of FUN.

Meet Chellee Siewert, Founder of Capture Marketing and Adwoa Dadzie, Vice President of Human Resources at Comcast on this episode. These two women discuss key aspects of managing their respective careers in a world of entrepreneurship, millennials, and diversification. Adwoa shares her passion for corporate America as a millennial and how she navigates the culture. Chellee shares her perspective on the choices she has made in her career and the path to entrepreneurship! You will not want to miss the great nuggets of wisdom, funny stories and perspectives!

Sima Vasa hosts a conversation with Kristin Luck, serial entrepreneur and growth strategist at Luck Collective, about a range of topics: personal brand, management, entrepreneurship, and the future of market research.

This week on The Forum, Kwayera Archer Cunningham, CVO at Global Ase Consulting and social venture entrepreneur, will talk about her research, from not just from a US perspective, but internationally as well. Some of the topics she will cover include understanding some of the challenges that women face in balancing ambition and family. Additionally, learning concrete strategies for women as well as leaders to embrace women and harness their talents.

Meet Stephen Kuhl and Kabeer Chopra, co-founders of Burrow and recent Wharton MBA graduates. Learn about their journey designing and manufacturing the perfect couch and what it has taught them. Listeners will get an inside view of what it took to be successful from concept to launch. Learn how they built Burrow: fundraising, pre-orders, design, spreading awareness, tackling supply chain, manufacturing and much more!

They’re young, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial, fast-paced, open-minded, and confident. This week’s topic: Millennials. Special guests Ben Martinez, CEO of Sumato Coffee Co. and VP of HR at HireVue, and Jason Evanish, CEO of Get Lighthouse, will shed light on the opportunities and advantages of working millennials. Curious what it takes to attract, maintain and connect with millennials? Tune in, maybe it’s time to give them a chance…

Join Kara Goldin, CEO and founder of Hint, Inc. on June 20th to hear her successful female entrepreneur story. Kara took great initiative and risk when she started her own business Hint, Inc. Tune in to learn how businesses are starting to care more about health and wellness, and how Hint is built on these values.

Join the conversation with Bobbi Rebell, author of How to be a Financial Grownup. Bobbi will share candid stories from financial role models, such as Tony Robbins and Cynthia Rowley (to name a few), with actionable advice to help you take charge of your money and business. In addition, we also have special guest Julian Kheel, Senior Editor of The Points Guy, who will share tips and tricks on maximizing your travel points!

Want to learn how to prioritize sales and marketing efforts on a budget? Tune in this week, as special guest Paul Kirch reveals how to tackle some of the biggest challenges small and medium size businesses are facing today. Additionally, Paul will cover how to motivate employees and embrace technology to increase sales. Paul will also share a personal anecdote about the best sales lesson he’s learned from many years of experience in the business.

Mergers and acquisitions properly implemented can deliver great value to a business. This week’s show features special guest Lisa van Kesteren, founder and CEO of SeeLevelHX, as well as a successful female entrepreneur. Lisa will discuss the capital raise, acquisitions, and integration. Additionally, Lisa will shed light on how she established SeeLevelHX as a thought leader in the industry.

Learn the secrets of using social media to build your brand and your business. Today's guest is Carrie Kerpen, CEO of and co-founder of Likeable Media. Carrie will share constructive strategies on how to effectively create social media marketing plans for small, mid and large sized companies.